


The Choosings of Chiroptera

by QuellinesStories



Category: Batman (Telltale Videogame), Batman (Telltale), Batman Telltale, Batman: The Telltale Series, Batman: The Telltale Series (Videogame)
Genre: Choose Your Own Adventure, Choose Your Own Ending, Choose your story, M/M, Multi, OT3, Possible future batjokes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-31
Updated: 2016-12-31
Packaged: 2018-09-13 16:25:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9132166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QuellinesStories/pseuds/QuellinesStories
Summary: Unextended Summary~This is a story that not even the author knows the end to.For half a year Bruce Wayne has been attempting to pay his dues to those his father wronged by trying to improve Arkham Asylum-- the place the majority of Thomas Wayne's victims reside.For half a year Oswald Cobblepot has been in Arkham Asylum thanks to getting out of going to Blackgate Prison by taking an insanity plea, yet his oh so clever idea is turning out to not look so clever whence realizing the so called treatments being used to 'cure him' are almost making Blackgate look like a luxury.For half a year Harvey Dent has received more sedatives than medicine or coping mechanisms, and the doctors have met with him so rarely it's doubtful he's getting much more help in Arkham Asylum than he would've gotten in Blackgate Prison.What ensues after that is entirely up to the choices Bruce makes... the choices the reader makes.Each chapter of Bruce, Harvey, and Oswald's story is shaped by the decisions the reader makes.This is a story with an ending determined by its readers.





	1. An Epilogue of a Prologue

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TheHiddenFiles](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheHiddenFiles/gifts).



> Extended summary~ 
> 
> This is a story that not even the author knows the end to. 
> 
> For half a year Bruce Wayne has been attempting to pay his dues to those his father wronged by trying to improve Arkham Asylum-- the place the majority of Thomas Wayne's victims reside. Despite not being the one who committed the sins against the innocent people who were influenced by such, he still benefited off of them, and so he planned to fix that. 
> 
> For half a year Oswald Cobblepot has been in Arkham Asylum thanks to getting out of going to Blackgate Prison by taking an insanity plea, yet his oh so clever idea is turning out to not look so clever whence realizing in Blackgate probation may of at least been an option, while even the supposedly improving Arkham is seemingly quite a bit more cruel than the prison thanks to how long the doctors are planning to keep him there, and the so called treatments being used to 'cure him' are almost making Blackgate look like a luxury. 
> 
> For half a year Harvey Dent has received more sedatives than medicine or coping mechanisms, and the doctors have met with him so rarely it's doubtful he's getting much more help in Arkham Asylum than he would've gotten in Blackgate Prison. Maybe it's not so bad since the sedatives make him so barely self aware it's difficult for Two Face to be there, yet sometimes Harvey doesn't even feel like he himself is there... it lowers aggression with sluggish behavior, so surely that's better... or at least that's what he tells himself whenever he manages to keep his drowsy eyes open. 
> 
> It's been six months since Bruce has seen his childhood friend or his once best friend, so when he reckons it's time to make sure his funding towards Arkham isn't all for naught by deciding to also build the mental facility he'd originally intended to build as a plan B just in case Arkham turns out to be a lost cause, he's forced to see both Harvey and Oswald once more after having to visit Arkham for legal reasons. 
> 
> What ensues after that is entirely up to the choices Bruce makes... the choices the reader makes. 
> 
> Each chapter of Bruce, Harvey, and Oswald's story is shaped by the decisions the reader makes, and these decisions can do many things-- they can make an ally or enemy, a hero or villain, a character's life saved or ended, and an ending filled with comfort or sorrow. 
> 
> This is a story with an ending determined by its readers. 
> 
> ~ 
> 
> Dedicated to Hailey, who's a sweet gal, spectacular friend, and lovely writer! I'm so glad I got to meet such a unique and caring person :)

Bruce kept brooding on all the choices he'd gone and made, wondering how it would influence the people around him; he pondered on whether or not a single decision had mattered at all in the long run, because it seemed like no matter what he did the overall final outcome of each trial he'd faced wasn't up to him. 

Maybe he was wrong and had actually made things better for Gotham and those around him, or maybe he really hadn't made much of a difference at all. 

Batman stared up at the hole in the ceiling above him, looking into the peering sky with rain pouring down so harshly he wondered if he'd drown in the water beating down on his skin, blood pooling in the puddles around him on the cold tiles he laid on as he tried to remember each call he made for the people he'd met up to this point. 

Like the choices he made with Harvey. How he'd insisted Harvey be allowed in the meeting with Falcone when they discussed the once mayor's campaign. The way he'd decided to not give Vicki a quote for Harvey's sake when finding out she was a reporter who could potentially harm his election run and refusing to speak with her, just to be safe. Not trying to kiss Selina due to knowing Harvey was interested, and honestly Bruce had figured she was interested in his friend as well at first. Continuing to fund his campaign even after Harvey wanted to distance himself from him thanks to the conspiracy surrounding the Wayne name. Saving Harvey instead of Selina, because it was more than clear that Harvey would sustain more dire injuries than Selina would when it came down to it. Backing up Harvey instead of Montoya since he'd just gotten out of the hospital, and as far as Bruce had known she was physically well all while the GCPD were rushing to assist a fellow officer. Letting Selina know he wasn't interested in doing anything other than conversing the night she rescued him from Lady Arkham out of respect for Harvey considering Bruce wasn't about to be a part of him being cheated on. However, Harvey hadn't believed nothing had happened when he unexpectedly showed up the next morning and saw his best friend in boxers at the house of the woman he'd been dating, and even then Bruce wore him down through dodging his punches and talking rather than beating him up. He spoke to Harvey as himself and not the bat in attempts to make amends by getting through to his old friend, yet had no luck and was forced to watch the other become even more corrupt. 

The decision he went through with when showing mercy to a Child of Arkham at the docks whence investigating Lady Arkham's drug, refusing to harm the crook and instead handing him over to the police without any broken bones. 

Then there was Gordon, too-- Gordon who he'd given Falcone's files to rather than Vicki so the officer could put him in jail since that would make people safer than just exposing him. Attending the press conference Gordon had invited him to as a Wayne rather than a Bat, because he wanted to show Gordon and the rest of Gotham he intended to make up for the crimes he was benefiting off of by doing many things to clean it up-- one of those things being improving Arkham Asylum. 

Falcone as well, of course; Falcone... the cruel man who he restrained himself from brutalizing and instead handing him over to the police safe and sound. The man he'd chosen to ease the pain of with morphine when visiting him in the hospital despite loathing him for all he'd done and all he was, and being compared to his mother for the pacifist act. 

Not to mention Mayor Hill, who he'd shown full resentment towards as Wayne rather than Batman to let the other know they weren't friends, just like he'd made sure Falcone knew. 

Oswald... Keeping his composure around Oswald instead of punching him, because it was the civil thing to do. He always tried to keep things civil between them in conversations-- always tried to diffuse the situation for the sake of them once being childhood friends, but Oswald had remained convinced Bruce was just as bad as his father due to benefiting off of the sins of his father while Oswald suffered from those same sins, and Lady Arkham had convinced Oz that he was a soldier meant for a greater cause that Bruce was getting in the way off. 

Oh, and he couldn't forget Lucius. Asking Lucius to stay as an inside man in Wayne Enterprises after the board let Bruce go temporarily, because if there was anyone he could trust other than Alfred, it was Lucius... things with Gordon had been a bit shaky at the time. 

And John Doe. John fucking Doe. John had offered a favor for a future favor, and admittedly Bruce had taken it more out of amusement with a tad bit of desperation, but he hadn't taken it seriously. He even decided to go with John's plan by escaping the riot John had made and sneaking by security to phone for help, yet in doing so he hadn't stopped the chaos that ensued in said riot. 

Plus, there was always that asshole cop of Harvey's that he'd paid off instead of ramming down the barricade of due to not wanting to cause a scene as angry citizens beat on his car, which wasn't a fun time at all considering he'd just gotten out of Arkham and the drug was still wearing off. 

Alfred. Forgiving Alfred, because Alfred may of withheld the truth of what had been going on when he was a child, but he had been against what his father had been doing from the start, and he'd stayed to support Bruce all those years after what had happened in the alleyway despite planning to leave the household that had been forcing him to keep horrid secrets. Even taking the mask off to stop Vicki from harming Alfred, because he wasn't the only family he had left when Vicki had captured him... he was the only friend, too-- the others had either turned against him or left. 

... Selina. Hugging Selina before she rode off on her motorcycle out of Gotham, because while there wasn't a romance between them, there was a friendship of sorts-- a strong one. 

Fuck... was Bruce's vision fading in and out? 

The hardest choice he'd made was going after Harvey first and being forced to watch his no longer best friend's arm burn in order to save Alfred, and then going after Oswald by reminding the other of their past as he was a part of a plan that caused Oswald's legs to get severely injured after a statue crashed down on them. 

Bruce sill believed in Harvey Dent, and he truly was sorry for what he'd done to Oswald due to Vicki's drug. 

Dizzy. Bruce felt dizzy. 

"I won't let you down." Harvey had promised, raising his glass and giving a smile; he'd been overjoyed to hear a Wayne was going to fully fund his campaign. He'd said that a year ago. 

It hurt. 

"I'll smash their damn faces." Oswald had sobbed into Bruce's collarbone, clinging onto the other's shirt and trembling as Bruce tightened his grasp; Oz had been so distraught to hear the other kids make fun of his dear ol' mum being put in Arkham. He'd said that when they were children. 

It wasn't the wounds that hurt quite so much anymore-- it was more like an ache in his gut than air on a wound. 

There were more people that were influenced by the choices he'd made since then, and there were other choices he'd made that affected those he'd already listed since then as well, but he was having trouble remembering what exactly... 

A whimper caught his blurring attention. 

Bruce glanced over at the wide eyed girl staring at him and trembling behind the man that was adjusting his pocket watch caked in blood, and the vigilante tried to sit up to get that poor girl away from the man keeping her bruising wrists and ankles, chained to the floor, but he could barely move. 

Shit. 

"I'm sorry," Batman hoarsely managed to choke out, the girl's eyes watering as another whimper left her throat, the man keeping her hostage winding the clock's chain around his hand, ready to strangle the bat attempting to take away his things. "I'm sorry." He repeated as the villain walked towards him, the young girl with burn marks littering her arms, legs, stomach, and back trying to tug out of her chains and giving a pained noise as the metal dug into her skin, wanting to help the hero that had tried to save her from the man standing above him. 

Batman was sorry for a lot of things. 

"She belongs here." The criminal spoke confidently, kneeling next to the captured bat. 

Batman's eyes narrowed at that, and he spat out the first thing that came to mind as blood from his lips hit the cruel man's face. 

"Harvey's going to come for her, so you sure as hell better be ready, and if I were you I'd be prepared to get on my damn knees if it ends up being Two Face knocking on your door." It was meant to be menacing. Maybe a bit much, but right now the last thing the hero wanted to do was hold his tongue around this creep. 

The man's brow quirked. "So Penguin wasn't the only one with you after all..." The kidnapper wondered who else on the Bat's little 'ally list' would possibly show up in attempts to ruin things. "No matter," He spoke dully, unwinding the chain and reaching towards Batman's throat. "she and I will be far away by then." The girl gave a noise of objection, desperately trying to get out of her constraints as the chain wrapped around the vigilante's throat. "Hush, child-- we'll be safe as soon as I get rid of this intruder." The crook crooned. 

Batman wasn't sure what was going to happen when he could barely move, but he wasn't about to just leave this kid with him... 

Surely his choices hadn't resulted in this being the end... what were the choices he made before this? 

Batman recalled when this turn of events had all began... when he'd gone to Arkham Asylum and seen Oswald and Harvey for the first time since putting them in there...


	2. Reluctant Encounters

Temporary. Arkham Asylum was meant to be temporary-- meant to be a place Harvey Dent and Oswald Cobblepot- or as Gotham knew them: 'Two Face and Penguin'- were supposed to only be for a brief period of time, because the new mental health hospital Bruce Wayne and Harvey Dent had supported during the previous mayor's campaign run was meant to be open by now. 

Apparently that plan had been put on hold thanks to each and every one of the construction workers that had been finishing up the final touches of the hospital oh so abruptly deciding to resign. 

Bruce Wayne- who preferred to just be called Wayne nowadays thanks to how he was wary of going too unprofessional and making friends thanks to what had happened to his childhood friend Oswald Cobblepot and best friend Harvey Dent- had decided he'd let this mysterious 'coincidence' slide for long enough, and that was why he was standing across from the man at the front desk of Arkham Asylum and arguing with him. 

"I spoke to the facility's director," Wayne explained as calmly as his voice would allow. "he told me you all had interfered with the contract for the new mental hospital somehow-" 

"How could we interfere with a contract we're not involved in?" The receptionist scoffed, his eyes rolling a bit over dramatically. "It's not like we had any deals with them-- we're nowhere in the contract, so it doesn't concern us." 

Wayne exhaled deeply, ignoring the urge to close his eyes and pinch the bridge of his nose in annoyance. "Listen, the boss there told me to come talk to the boss here, all right? Can you just at least tell me who that would be?" 

"He didn't give you a name?" The receptionist interrogated skeptically. 

Wayne paused at that, averting his gaze while crossing his arms and admitting with a sigh, "I didn't write it down-" 

"You forgot?" The employee snickered, seeming much more amused than he should've and causing Wayne to glance at him somewhat irked. "What's wrong? Didn't have your butler around to take notes?" Wayne's cold stare was enough to show just how amusing he found the jest. 

"It was Hugh something-" Wayne informed in the most even tone he could muster up, patience wearing thin. 

"Hugo Strange," The other informed rather smugly, the right corner of his lip tugging upwards into a smirk. "you can request and appointment with him, but that doesn't mean he'll take it," Wayne narrowed his eyes, the receptionist adding with a shrug, "he's a VERY busy man." 

"Fine," Wayne agreed, arms crossing as he straightened up. "what's his schedule like?" 

The employee let out an over exaggerated breath as he sat up in the office chair he'd been lounging in, taking his sweet sweet time typing in whatever the hell he had to type in to find Dr. Hugo's calendar, afterwards informing, "He doesn't have anything scheduled around four today-- I could see if I could slip you in then." 

Wayne glanced at the clock, seeing it was twelve in the afternoon before returning his gaze to the employee and giving an nod. "Sure." Dangit... he would've liked to of gotten in earlier. 

The receptionist nodded, fingers clacking something into the keyboard while asking, "Are you staying in the waiting room until then or coming back later?" 

Wayne didn't have any meetings today, and as far as he knew Alfred didn't need anything-- not to mention crime around Gotham had been oddly low, so he didn't really have anything to do today... 

"I'll wait." Wayne decided, wanting to see whether things had gotten better or worse in here while he was at it... or if they'd stayed the same. 

Wayne regretted that decision when he found the waiting room was apparently in the same lounge that the patients were in, eying said room from the other side of a window next to the door separating him from said patients as he halted in his tracks; was this even legal? 

Sure, only patients on good behavior were allowed in the lounge, but considering the vast majority of said patients despised the Wayne family it was doubtful they'd be on good behavior for long. 

Wayne debated on just coming back later to avoid the risk of being trapped in the middle of a group of people his father had likely put in here, although before he could turn tail and run a nearby guard buzzed open the door for him. 

Great. 

Despite Wayne's best efforts, an attempt to act casual and avoid any notice failed the second he reluctantly went through the threshold, eyes instinctively glancing towards him and only a handful of people who most likely either didn't recognize him or didn't know who he was went back to doing their own thing-- the rest either widened their eyes and became finicky... or glared daggers at him while straightening up. 

Maybe Wayne should just turn around and- 

The door shut behind him, clicking into place, Wayne inwardly wincing at the sound and holding in his sigh as he cautiously made his way over to a wooden chair near a small end table no one was using, making sure to take a mental note of where the two guards were and figuring he'd be able to just ask them to let him out if he ended up having to. 

Four hours. Wayne had four hours here. He could do that-- he'd been here before; besides, these were people his father had wronged... and since Wayne had lived off of the sins of Thomas Wayne, the least he could do was bother giving anyone who wanted to say anything to him a chance to come over and speak up. 

Wayne glanced around, trying to politely ignore the menacing glowers and offering an admittedly awkward smile that was meant to be assuring to those who eyed him fearfully, and by the time Wayne had stopped scanning the room he realized there was no one there that he could remember meeting. 

No John Doe, no Harvey Dent, no Oswald Cobblepot, no Victor Zsasz, not a towering blue man in sight, and no men with puppets that spat insults at him... hell, Wayne wasn't even sure how Oswald managed to get in here when he was supposed to be sent to Blackgate, but he was guessing a plea to insanity had been used- 

"What's handsome ol' Bruce Wayne doing out of his castle and in a dump like this?" A feminine voice mused intrigued, Wayne blinking out of his brooding daze and turning his attention to the red haired woman that had taken a seat atop his table, the billionaire's brow quirking, lips parting to question the new face, but not having a chance to utter a single sound as she quickly continued. "Oh sorry, I'm being rude, aren't I?" She apologized with what Wayne was pretty sure was meant to be a warm smile, but honestly just came out as more of a forced smirk. "I'm Pamela," She greeted, palm stretching out. "Pamela Isley." 

Wayne paused, glancing down at the offered hand and hesitantly shaking it. "Nice to meet you." He couldn't tell if this lady had good intentions, bad intentions, or was just curious and bored, already trying to analyze her to make sure he didn't need to be ready for anything funny. 

"The pleasure's all mine." Pamela replied with a sickly sweet smile, hand pulling back as she commented, "Strong grip you've got there-- do you work out?" 

If by working out she meant hunting criminals every night in a bat suit... 

"Occasionally." Wayne answered casually, wondering why exactly this woman was in here, but knowing better than to pry about such sensitive subjects. "So what brings you over here? Have we met before?" He wanted to know how on his guard he should be around this chick. 

"I doubt it," Pamela chuckled the same way a child with a secret would laugh, and while it was unsettling there was always a chance Wayne was just being too paranoid. "but everyone knows Bruce Wayne-- you're practically the king of Gotham now with Hill and Falcone out, aren't you big boy?" She leaned forward, getting uncomfortably close to Wayne as he shifted back somewhat. "I just wanted to see what all the fuss was about when it comes to Gotham's biggest playboy." 

"You can just call me Wayne," He informed, throat clearing as he resisted the urge to scoot away. "you don't have to use my full name." 

"Aw, just Wayne? Not Bruce?" Pamela hummed, patting Wayne's cheek and allowing her hand to linger there. "So formal-" 

"Hands off the visitor, Pamela!" A guard warned, Pamela's emerald eyes rolling as she sat back up, hand retreating. "And get your ass off the table!" 

Pamela gave an apologetic look to Wayne. "These guys just won't let a girl have fun." She sighed, hopping off the table. "So why exactly are you here in any case, Mr. Wayne?" 

"Just Wayne is fine," He politely corrected again. "and I'm here for an appointment with Dr. Hugo." 

Pamela's expression fell at that-- temporarily. 

"Huh," Pamela muttered, composure regained almost as quickly as she'd lost it, yet Wayne had already noted the brief break in behavior. "funny-- I reckoned you were here to see Harv or Oz." 

"You know Harvey and Oswald?" Wayne questioned taken aback. 

"Well, I know Harv," Pamela confirmed, hands resting on her hips. "and everyone here knows about the whole thing that went down between you and Oz considering it was on every television in Gotham." She pondered, looking Wayne over. "If you want, I could go get them for you," Her pupils seemed to dilate at the way that Wayne's expression fell. "ya' know, let you have a nice little reunion with your two pals and all that." 

"Thanks for the offer, but I'm fine-" Wayne started assuringly. 

"Nonsense! I'm sure you probably miss your best buds-- no need to be modest." Pamela interjected in an all too friendly fashion. 

"No, really, it's fine-" 

"It's not like you're bothering me or anything-- there's rarely anything I get to do in this dull place; I don't mind going to get them for you." 

"I'd rather not bother them." Wayne insisted, not about to risk getting in a fist fight with either of his once-friends in a room full of people itching for a reason to pounce on the son of the man that had ruined their lives. 

Wayne had already been blamed for John Doe's riot, and he didn't want to be blamed for another. 

"I'm sure they'd love to see you," Pamela reassured, Wayne keeping from scoffing in doubt. "I'll go get them now!" 

"Pamela-" Wayne started, letting out a long exhale as the other turned on her heel and walked off. 

Peachy. Just peachy. 

One minute went by, and no one showed up. Wayne was antsy. 

Five minutes went by, and there was still no sight of Oswald or Harvey. Wayne was wary. 

Ten minutes went by, and Pamela hadn't returned. Wayne was hopeful. 

Thirty minutes went by, and Wayne began to relax and realize he could very possibly get through four hours without being confronted by either of those he once called friend- 

The door opened. 

Shit. 

Harvey Dent walked inside with Pamela, Wayne cussing under his breath and sinking in his chair, averting his gaze towards the side and nonchalantly covering up the side of his face the best he could to make it look like he was just contemplating and tired if he got caught- 

Shit shit shit-- they were coming his way. 

"Oz was busy," Pamela informed, Wayne reluctantly straightening back up and facing the pair in front of him. "but he may be able to swing by later." She added, walking over towards a pair of unused chairs as Harvey stayed standing in front of Wayne. 

"Harvey?" Wayne murmured unsurely, looking over the man that had defensively crossed arms and an uncertain expression, Harvey's gaze averting every once in a while as he fidgeted with a coin in his hand, his brow furrowed and jaw clenched. 

"Yeah," Harvey muttered, glancing back at Wayne, throat clearing. "yeah, it's me." He assured before looking away again. 

This had to be the meds or something... Harvey was unusually dazed and finicky. "Are you oka-" 

"Here ya' go, Harv." Pamela spoke up, dragging two chairs over to the table, Harvey briefly returning his gaze towards Wayne one more time before turning his attention towards the chair, hesitantly scooting it up to the table and pausing before sitting down. 

Wayne arched a brow as Pamela sat next to Harvey and placed a hand on his shoulder, assuringly rubbing his upper arm in attempts to get his muscles to relax, the poor guy clearly tense. 

Was Pamela just a nice gal, or were these two a little more than friends..? 

"How long have you two known each other?" Wayne asked, trying to start conversation before things could get too uncomfortable. 

Pamela looked at Harvey, giving him a chance to answer, yet noting the way he just rolled the coin back and forth across his knuckles while refusing to meet her or Wayne's gaze, causing her to reveal, "Oh, he's been here... what, six months?" Harvey at least nodded at that, showing he was listening. "I met him about a month after he was admitted." 

So five months. "How long have you been here?" Wayne inquired, Pamela's eyes narrowing ever so slightly. "If I may ask." 

"A while." Pamela answered vaguely, and despite her cool composure it was fairly obvious she was more or less daring Wayne to ask her why she was there as well with the way she stared him down. 

Wayne changed the subject. 

"Have you made any other friends in here, Harvey?" Wayne questioned, trying to get the other to at least look at him and see Wayne wasn't trying to be menacing here-- Wayne just wanted to talk; sure, he had been against it when Pamela offered to bring Harvey in, but now that Harvey was here the least Wayne could do is get the other off the edge. 

Harvey just shrugged, eyes staying focused on a cracked tile. "Not exactly." 

"He's a bit shy." Pamela explained, and again she placed a hand on Harvey's arm, patting it sympathetically. 

Wayne frowned; Harvey was one of the most charismatic guys he'd ever known-- since when was he anything but outgoing? 

"Have you been doing all right here?" Wayne continued despite the fact Harvey had dark circles under his eyes, hair usually perfectly combed a mess, eyes in a foggy daze. 

Harvey furrowed his brow, rubbing the side of his neck. "I guess so." 

"This isn't exactly the Bahamas," Pamela reminded while crossing her legs daintily, arms crossing. "none of us are really 'all right.'" 

Wayne frowned, wondering if he was going to get a chance to speak with Harvey alone. "I meant are the conditions at least fair here?" 

Harvey parted his lips to say something, but shut them before gripping his coin in his fist, swallowing dryly while instead saying, "Sure." 

Wayne didn't like the sounds of that. "'Sure?'" He interrogated skeptically, Harvey giving a nod. "What-" 

"This is Arkham," Pamela interrupted, her tone sharper than it had previously been. "it's probably the poorest mental facility in the state, if not the nation... maybe even the world," She tapped her fingernails against her crossed arms. "I figured you'd know that considering you were the one making plans to put all your funds into making it a better place." 

"That idea still stands," Wayne promised, Harvey's hand toying with the coin pausing at that. "and just in case it doesn't work I'm making sure we have a plan B where we can start from scratch and have a new mental health facility." 

"Just can't make up your mind, can you, big guy?" Pamela chuckled, Harvey finally glancing in between the two. "First you wanted to make a new facility, then you wanted to just fund this one to make it better, and now you're almost back to square one, huh?" 

"It's complicated," Wayne confirmed, not liking how it felt like he was also being analyzed here. "but overall I'm just trying to do what's best for-" He tried to find the right word. 

"For what?" Pamela challenged, Wayne catching the way Harvey was growing uncomfortable. "Us 'crazies'? Is that the word you were looking for, handsome?" 

"I was going to go with something along the lines of mentally ill." Wayne defended assuringly before glancing at Harvey again, frowning as Harvey just looked away once more. 

"Proper proper," Pamela mused, curling her red locks around her pointer finger. "I wasn't expecting a guy like you to be a goodie-two-shoes." 

Wayne's eyes narrowed. "A guy like me?" 

"The news just makes you sound like a real bad boy," Pamela elaborated, seeming to stare right through Wayne, giving him a shrug. "that's all-- didn't mean to get your britches in a twist." She turned her gaze towards Harvey. "You know him better than I do though, don't ya' Harv?" She gave a curious smile. "Surely he's not always this prim and proper." 

Wayne couldn't tell if Pamela was trying to help him and Harvey get off on the wrong foot or the right one. 

"He's-" Harvey hesitated, eyes landing on Wayne broodingly. "-usually polite around people he doesn't know," He looked at Pamela. "not sure 'prim and proper' is the way to put it." 

One second Pamela could make Harvey come somewhat out of his shell, the next she was making both Harvey and Wayne feel awkward as hell with just a few words... 

Then again, Wayne never was a big people person, and Harvey always did get a slight change of attitude around people he liked... but usually that attitude was more cocky than shy. 

"So big bad Wayne isn't so bad after all," Pamela muttered, head tilting. "I'm almost disappointed you're such a saint," Wayne didn't like how he felt as though she was looking him over the same way one would look over a novel-- reading him like a book. "no big secrets after all?" 

"Afraid not." Wayne wasn't sure what Pamela was trying to get at if she was even trying to get at something here, and he didn't want to know in any case. "I'm sorry, but do you mind if I speak with Harvey alone?" Most people don't like someone trying to find out their minor secrets, so you can imagine how much he disliked this lady trying to find out any of his since he had a fairly big one-- and that was an understatement. "It's been a while since we got the chance to speak." 

Pamela raised her hands in defeat. "Okay, okay-- I know when to stop prying," She said while standing, the corners of Harvey's lips tugging downwards. "and no worries-- I know reunions can be personal," She leaned down, pressing a kiss against Harvey's cheek. "we can all talk some other time." She added, giving a wink Wayne's way. "You boys place nice." 

"She seems-" Wayne paused, causing Harvey to look at him as Pamela walked over towards a flowerpot on a windowsill. "-nice?" 

"Most of the people here are." Harvey agreed, gaze averting again, eying the coin resting in the palm of his hand. 

Wayne raised a brow taken aback. "They are?" 

Harvey nodded, flipping the coin over to look along its other side. "The majority aren't so bad," He admitted much to Wayne's surprise. "they keep to themselves unless someone provokes them." He informed while tilting the coin back and forth, obviously trying to keep his eyes off of Wayne. 

"That's good," Wayne murmured relieved. "what about the doctors though?" 

Harvey stopped examining his coin, jaw setting somewhat as he muttered, "They're fine, too." 

Wayne leaned forward some, trying to get Harvey's attention, the other just averting his eyes to the wood pattern on the table between them, giving a concerned tone while asking, "Are you sure?" 

"I said they're fine." Harvey snapped, this time meeting Wayne's eyes with a glare, voice lowering dangerously. 

Harvey had told him the doctors were damn well fine-- did Wayne not hear him? He didn't like repeating himself. 

Wayne tensed, ready to block a blow if needed as Harvey's hand clenched into a fist around his silver dollar. "Harvey..." He attempted to calm in an even voice. 

No, Harvey wasn't talking right now- 

Harvey blinked, glower shifting into a dazed and wary stare, the patient shaking his head and running a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry, I-" He apologized, voice back to normal. "The doctors are-" He looked away. "They're still testing to see what meds work best with me," He confessed, shoulders slumping. "I still get outbursts sometimes from-" He swallowed thickly. "-from him." 

"There's no need to apologize-" Wayne assured, going quiet as Harvey gave a scoff. 

This was bad-- seeing Wayne made one part of Harvey feel ashamed one second and pissed off the next... he needed to get out of there before he hurt someone. 

"I shouldn't be here," Harvey interjected while letting out a long breath. "I need to get back to my room." He said apologetically, the chairs legs creaking against the floor as he stood, visibly wincing at the screech of wood against tiles and trying to ignore the way his vision temporarily doubled. 

"Hey-" Wayne objected as Harvey swayed, not wanting the other to fall and reaching out a hand to grip his upper arm and steady him. 

"Hands off the patient!" A guard snapped in warning, Wayne glancing at the employee with a stare of disbelief before looking back at Harvey, waiting for the other to give a nod of assurance to make sure he was okay before letting go. 

"I'm fine," Harvey waved off, nonetheless sitting back down. "just a little dizzy." 

"I could go get one of the doctors to take you back to your room?" Wayne offered, guessing Harvey had to be exhausted from the looks of it. 

"No!" Harvey nearly growled through clenched teeth, voice dangerously low and a glower taking place. "I mean-" His glare fell into an uneasy look. "-no." He repeated, voice back to normal once more. "I'm fine-- I just need to rest for a few seconds before I return." 

Wayne side eyed the guard he'd offered to get, noting the employee's hand on his belt's taser and scrunching his nose; he'd known the docs and guards here were bad when it came to unnecessary force, but surely some of them had to be fair... right..? 

"Okay," Wayne finally replied, looking at Harvey and giving a nod of reassurance, sitting back down while saying, "that's fine." 

Harvey at least visibly relaxed at that... even if it was only a little. "Thanks, Wayne." 

It still felt off to hear Harvey call him by his last name... 

"Any idea on when you'll get out of here?" Wayne asked, already regretting the question as it just made Harvey avert his gaze again. 

"Dr. Leland predicted another six months," Harvey said while pushing his coin into his pocket. "but it's up to Dr. Hugo, and he said it could take up to at least two more years." 

"Why's it up to Dr. Hugo?" Wayne questioned confused, arms crossing. "Isn't Leland your assigned doctor?" 

"All the doctors here work under Dr. Hugo," Harvey explained, clenching and unclenching his fist, clearly trying to get used to not having his coin in his hand at all times... or being annoyed by Two Face. "they have to check with him before releasing any of their patients." 

"I'm supposed to have a meeting with Hugo today," Wayne revealed, earning a stare and quirked brow. "I'll talk to him about letting you out whenever Leland decides you're ready; she's your personal doctor-- she should be making the calls." 

Harvey smiled... if one would even call it that-- it looked forced and lacked any positive emotion other than politeness. "Thanks, Bruce," Oh? He'd used his first name? "that means a lot." It sounded like Harvey doubted Wayne would be able to do much, but at least the thanks seemed genuine. 

Huh. Maybe they were actually getting somewhere... Wayne didn't get his hopes too high though considering they'd just started talking. 

"Have you learned any good methods for keeping-" Wayne wasn't sure how to refer to... well, the other Harvey-- or whatever it would be called. "-HIM at bay?" 

Harvey resisted the urge to take out his coin. "Not really," He sounded sour. "right now the only thing that seems to manage to keep him down is all these sedatives they've been giving me." 

Had Wayne heard that right? "Sedatives?" 

"Yeah," Harvey confirmed, feeling like a damn freak, wanting to grab the words that had already left his mouth and shove them in his pocket so he didn't have to sound like some kind of monster needed to be kept chained up. "they make me less self aware, so he doesn't come out as much since I can't get triggered by things as easily with how it takes more time for me to register things," Well Harvey had already admitted to being sedated, so he may as well give the whole story. "and when he does come out he's not as aggressive when I'm- when he's-" A sigh. "-when WE'RE like this." Harvey wanted to shut up, but he had very little impulse control when he was so sedated, and when thanks to said sedatives he generally didn't realize he probably shouldn't of said something until he'd already finished saying it. "This keeps people safe, though." He added in attempts to make things sound not so bad and make their conversation more casual despite already oversharing. 

"You're at least getting therapy sessions, too, right?" Wayne interrogated, growing more and more concerned every time Harvey spoke. "They're trying to find coping mechanisms to help you, aren't they?" He elaborated when not receiving a reply, Harvey remaining quiet and Wayne continuing, "Hells Harvey, are they even giving you medications, or are you just getting sedatives?" 

"I've had a few therapy sessions." Harvey tried to brush off, knowing that wasn't going to work as Wayne just stared at him, the patient refusing to look up at the visitor. 

"You're supposed to have at least one every week," Wayne said knowingly. "how many have you had?" Nothing. "Harvey-" 

"Five." 

Five. Harvey had had five therapy sessions when he was supposed to have at least twenty-four by now. 

Wayne had sent Harvey here in hopes he'd get better treatment in Arkham Asylum than Blackgate prison, but it sounded like there was just barely a difference between the two. 

"And the meds?" Wayne pressed, Harvey glancing at him. "Have they tried any meds on you, or just sedatives?" 

"Can we just-" Harvey closed his eyes, trying to calm the sickening way Two-Face had practically been scratching at the surface at the sight of Bruce Wayne, and was now clawing at the persistent questions. "-can we change the subject?" He asked evenly, eyes opening back up as he managed to keep the dual personality down. 

Wayne noted Harvey's tics; the way he cracked his neck every once in a while whenever Two-Face would want out, how he flexed his fist obviously trying to ignore the way it felt like he was missing a piece of his palm without the silver dollar, and the averted gazes along with brief glances whenever he couldn't look Wayne in the eye. 

"Sure," Wayne answered, not touching Harvey's hand, but placing his own next to the other's, managing to earn a glance. "we can change the subject." 

Harvey almost smiled in relief at that, but he noticed Wayne's hand was next to his scarred one and self consciously pulled it back, his good arm crossing over the burnt one. "At least it's just my arm that's like this," He tried to shrug off nonchalantly despite being clearly embarrassed. "that Penguin freak nearly got my face." 

Wayne shifted around in his seat at the mention of Penguin. "Do you see Oz in here much?" 

Harvey's eyes narrowed at the familiar nickname, recalling how Wayne and Cobblepot had apparently been childhood friends. "Yeah," He answered, deciding to not comment on Oswald and Bruce's past. "I'm not sure how that asshole managed to get in here with an insanity plea." 

Wayne temporarily went back on his guard with the way that Harvey practically spat out that last part, but relaxed whence realizing it was still Harvey; a bitter Harvey, but still Harvey. 

"Does he bother you?" Wayne inquired a bit worriedly, knowing both Oswald and Harvey were charismatic as hell and wondering whether or not the two had followers in here. 

"If by bother you mean constantly try to get me pissed off by edging me on so I get in trouble, then yes-- he does bother me." 

Okay, so Harvey was looking at Wayne more now and talking more as well, but he was also doing so in a ticked off way... it was a start, right? It was healthy to vent, wasn't it? 

"Yeah," Wayne murmured empathetically. "Oz always was the type to get others in trouble." 

Again with the familiar nickname. "You two sure were buddy buddy as kids, huh?" 

Wayne couldn't tell if that was Harvey or Two Face talking... not a good sign. "We were close, yeah," Wayne hesitantly admitted, Harvey now meeting his gaze a bit more daringly than usual rather than looking away. "why do you ask?" 

Harvey shrugged. "Just find it interesting considering 'birds of a feather' and all that." 

Wayne's brow quirked. "We both changed a lot over the years." Was Harvey implying Wayne and Oswald were somehow on the same page? 

"Right," Harvey began, and he could tell he was about to be a jackass, but he couldn't shut up because the sedatives had sedated a good portion of his common sense and manners all while allowing Two Face to slip out every once in a while. "he just became a self righteous prick who acts like the innocent people he murders makes a difference with the filth in the city, and you just became the guy that sleeps with his best friend's girlfriend," Damnit, he needed to get to his room before he fucked things up here. "some change." 

Wayne's patience for his friend managed to outweigh the tingle of irritation at the other's comment. "Even if I did let something happen between me and Selina, I wouldn't say a womanizer is just as bad as a murderer." 

Harvey scoffed. "Did you just call yourself a womanizer?" 

"I just mean-" 

"You mean you didn't do anything with Selina," Harvey interjected. "even though you were in her apartment with your shirt and jeans off." 

"I had been mugged," Wayne defended, and it wasn't a complete lie. "I had bandages all around me." 

Another excuse- 

Wait, mugged? 

Harvey blinked, actually looking concerned at that. "What?" He was surprised, to say the least. "Mugged? Why didn't you just tell me-" For a second, Wayne was convinced Harvey was going to believe him... until the other winced and looked away, knowing Two Face was probably screwing things up and making Harvey paranoid as hell again. "Why were you at Selina's place instead of the hospital?" He finally interrogated, looking back at Wayne irked, and now Wayne REALLY couldn't tell who he was talking to. 

"Because her place was closer than the hospital." Again, Wayne technically wasn't lying. 

"And you knew that how exactly?" 

"What-" 

"How did you know where she lived?" 

"Because she told me-" 

"Right. You'd never been there before." Harvey spoke unconvinced. 

"Yes, Harvey," Wayne insisted as patiently as possible. "I had never been her apartment until that night, and nothing happened other than her helping bandage me up." That was a complete truth, at least... even if Harvey didn't believe it. 

Harvey couldn't do this-- he needed his coin... it was like his security blanket. 

"I guess I just find it pretty interesting how she went from wanting to go on dinner dates to suddenly skipping town after I found you there." Harvey commented sourly, taking his silver dollar out of his pocket and flipping it back and forth with his thumb. 

"In her defense, you-" Wayne earned a bitter glance. "-the other you-" He corrected, guessing this was Harvey for now, but wasn't sure. "-decided to pull out a knife on her." 

Why did Wayne keep rambling? Why wouldn't he just shut up for one second? 

Harvey winced again, but continued flipping his coin, brow furrowing. "Yeah, that-" Wayne worried they'd just backtracked with how Harvey refused to look at him again. "-that was my fault, wasn't it?" 

"I'm not saying you had control over it," Wayne added, frowning as Harvey continued looking away. "I'm just saying Selina wasn't completely in the wrong for wanting to get to safety after what happened." Harvey just nodded, still flipping his coin. "Still, you managed to stop yourself from attacking us more than anything-" 

Wayne wasn't helping by talking to Harvey-- he was just making things a whole lot worse now. 

"It's fine, Wayne," Harvey spoke up, apparently back on a last name basis. "you don't have to sugarcoat what I did." 

"What HE did, Harvey," Wayne corrected at that. "not you." Harvey continued flipping his coin, but remained quiet. "Harv-" 

Just. be. quiet. 

Harvey caught the coin in his hand, clenching it into a fist and slamming it against the table. "Just-" All eyes turned towards them as his eyes squeezed shut, and Harvey sighed, hand running through already messy hair, eyes eventually opening after a long while of brooding. "I have to go." 

"Harvey-" Wayne protested as the other stood, noting how Harvey swayed dizzily. 

"It was good seeing you Wayne," Harvey interjected, whether that was a truth or lie difficult to tell. "even if it has been a while." 

It was Wayne's turn to downcast his gaze, feeling guilty at how he hadn't visited at all since Harvey had been admitted-- hadn't visited for six months. 

When Harvey walked out of the room, everyone else went back to minding their own business, Pamela- who had been worriedly watching- quickly returning her gaze to her flower pot as Wayne looked her way, patting down the soil anxiously before biting down on her lower lip and pausing, giving one more glance to Wayne before letting out a long breath and hurrying after Harvey. 

Dangit-- Wayne had very possibly just messed up. 

Three hours left... Wayne decided he should just take a nap or read something without risking fucking more things up in the mental health facility. 

One hour of reading several outdated magazines with pages either missing or scribbled on to the point they were nearly impossible to understand went by until Wayne just so happened to get another visitor. 

"I'm almost insulted," A familiar voice mused, Wayne tensing up and keeping his eyes on the magazine he was reading, because maybe that voice wasn't who it sounded like and they were talking to someone else completely- "six months of being in here thanks to you without a single visit from ya'," Wayne tried to just concentrate on the coffee spill on the smeared article. "and now when you finally show up-" The chair across from Wayne screeched out, someone sitting down across from him. "-it's just because ya' wanna' have a chat with the main doc 'ere, eh?" 

Wayne hesitantly lowered his magazine, eyes landing on Oswald Cobblepot-- on Penguin. 

"Oswald." Wayne greeted nonchalantly, deciding to be civil considering he'd rather not set off any of the other patients, setting down his newspaper on the table in between them. 

"Bruce." Oswald greeted right back, giving a gesture resembling a wave to the other with his umbrella, Wayne arching a brow at such. "Oh, this? It doubles as a cane," Oswald chuckled, amused laugh laced with hints of venom. "I got it after that blasted statue fell on my legs at the park," He set the umbrella beside him, meeting Wayne's eyes with a glare and forced smile. "you know, thanks to you making it fall after throwing that bloody drone at me." 

"Nice to see you, too, Oz." Wayne grumbled sarcastically, and it's not like he was spitting out insults, so he was practically still being polite... right..? More or less? 

It's totally not like Oswald had pissed him off enough to vaguely lose his cool with only three sentences. 

"Is it?" Oswald questioned skeptically, reasonably doubting Wayne found anything about this nice-- obviously. 

Wayne chose to not answer that. 

"What do you want, Oz?" Wayne sighed, knowing the two remaining hours were going to feel much longer if Oswald was there for them. 

"No need to sound so hostile," Oswald defended, lounging back in the chair comfortably and locking his hands behind his neck, feet kicking up on the table. "jus' wanted to come have a chat with my dear ol' friend." It looked like he was going to be here a while. 

"Really?" Wayne muttered unconvinced, Oswald grinning cheekily. "All right, fine-- what do you want to talk about?" 

"Oh, I don't know... what all have you been up to these past six months?" 

Catching criminals dressed as a bat and doing extreme parkour. 

"Working out, mostly," Wayne vaguely answered. "and taking care of business at Wayne Enterprises." He added casually. 

Oswald barely waited a second to hum, "Not going to ask me what I did?" 

Wayne stared at Oswald for a few seconds. "What did you do, Oswald?" He asked with as much enthusiasm and sincerity as he could muster up, finding that was very little. 

"Glad you asked, mate-- I was busy being stuck in here." 

Wayne couldn't stand Oswald's sarcastic bullshit sometimes. "How did you get put in here again?" Wayne subtly retorted at that. "What was the insanity claim you made?" 

"Now that's confidential," Oswald tsked, Wayne keeping from rolling his eyes. "at least I didn't get thrown in here for nearly beating an unarmed man to a pulp." 

For the love of- "I didn't have much of a choice, Oswald," Wayne snapped right back, managing to keep a relatively even voice. "it was YOUR boss that gave me the drugs in the first place." 

"Don't go blaming her, now," Oswald scolded, giving a scowl. "the drugs only-" 

"Only amplified my feelings," Wayne interrupted. "I know," He straightened up, trying to be professional about this despite wanting to call Oswald out on all of his B.S. too. "and while I admit I wanted to fight you after all the stunts you pulled, I didn't want to beat the shit out of you." 

Oswald' eyes narrowed at Wayne's careless wording. "You didn't 'beat the shit' out of me-" 

"I'm just saying you looked pretty rough-" Wayne countered with a careless shrug. 

"Oh piss off!" Oswald huffed, glancing away from Wayne in annoyance. "I know you're damn well gloating." Shite, he was already letting his temper get the best of him. 

Okay, yeah-- maybe Wayne was gloating... but just a little. 

"Sorry." It was an empty apology easy to give, and Wayne knew it sounded like one.

Oswald scoffed, eyes rolling. "Sure you are." 

Wayne parted his lips to reply, yet shut them at the sight of two blue marks resembling dots on Oswald's hip as his shirt pulled upwards somewhat while he rocked back and forth on the chair's back legs, brow raising as Wayne asked, "What's that?" 

Oswald blinked, glancing down towards where Wayne had gestured and scrunching his nose, feet kicking off of the table and lowering towards the grown as he let the chair fall on its front legs, fingers hooked behind his neck unlocking so he could cross his arms as he gave a shrug and muttered, "Just a spider bite." 

Looked like Harvey wasn't the only one avoiding Wayne's gaze. 

"Pretty big spider bite." Wayne commented, earning a glance accompanied by a glower. 

"It was a big spider." 

What kind of bullshit reply... 

Wayne decided to not push the matter, though, and instead changed the subject to, "So who's your doctor?" 

"Her name's Lee Thompkins," Oswald nearly instantly answered, obviously relieved Wayne had dropped his interrogation. "says I should be out of here before the end of the year." He added smugly. 

"Does Dr. Hugo agree?" 

Oswald's cocky grin fell into a frown. "That ol' bastard is an ass to everyone about when they can leave," He grumbled, placing an elbow on the table before resting his cheek in his hand. "but if you ask me the final say so shouldn't damn well be up to him-- it should be up to our primary docs." 

"So how long is he planning on keeping you here?" Wayne questioned, wanting to know when he'd have to prepare for this sneaky prick to be on the streets again. 

Oswald gritted his teeth, looking down at the table and saying something under his breath, earning a quirked brow from Wayne and hesitantly glancing up and giving a long exhale as Wayne patiently waited for an answer. "Possibly never." 

Wayne wasn't sure he'd heard that right. "Wait, what?" 

"He said I'd be safer to myself and others in here," Oswald grumbled, hand running through his hair stressed. "apparently I faked being a loon a little too well, and considering I've already 'caused a lot of damage' outside of here, he's-" Oswald swallowed dryly. "-he's decided the best bet would to be keep me locked up permanently." 

Geez... Wayne was still sore when it came to Oswald, but that didn't mean he didn't feel bad for the poor guy; sure, Oswald probably would've been in Blackgate prison for life if he'd gone there instead, and Wayne wouldn't of batted an eye if that were the case, but the fact Oswald was going to be stuck in the place his mum had been wrongfully admitted by his best friend's father just left a sour taste in Wayne's mouth-- particularly when the person keeping him here was under the impression Oswald was genuinely in need of mental help and deciding the best way to help would be by keeping him cooped up here forever; doctors weren't supposed to tell their patients there was essentially no hope for them, and Wayne couldn't tell if Hugo was actually as harsh as Oswald was making him out to be. 

Oswald knew how to mold a story to suit him, but Arkham was also full of those who abused their power-- Wayne would just have to decide who was in the wrong here after speaking with Hugo. 

"Maybe if you'd gone to Blackgate you could have at least gotten probation." Wayne spoke up, because Oswald shouldn't of made a plea to insanity and taken up space for people who actually needed help. 

"Oh shove off," Oswald scoffed, and he hadn't expected Wayne to give him any sympathy, but it admittedly would've been nice. "you're the one that should be locked up in either here or Blackgate," He met Wayne's eyes, staring him down. "not me, mate." 

"I should be locked up for a crime I didn't commit." Wayne stated flatly, just to make sure that was what Oswald was saying, taking the challenge and meeting Oswald's glare. 

"A crime you benefited off of." Oswald countered immediately, not breaking his gaze. 

"Yes, Oswald-- a crime I benefited off of," Wayne confirmed, Oswald arching a skeptical brow at the agreement there. "and a crime I've been trying to pay my dues to through charities and trying to clean out this damn place." 

Oswald gave a bitter smirk, almost looking amused. "Trying to clean out Arkham?" He leaned forward challengingly, Wayne not moving back. "That's a laugh," Wayne narrowed his eyes at that. "your father caked this whole place chalk full of filth," Oswald gave a mocking shrug. "it's gonna' be hard to clean it all up, old friend." 

"I'm paying off a debt, Oswald," Wayne said while leaning forward, meeting Oswald's challenge further. "it's not meant to be easy." 

Oswald eyed Wayne over broodingly, looking unconvinced yet somewhat curious and giving a smirk. "I guess we'll just see whether or not the apple fell far from the tree, eh?" He mused while shifting away and allowing some space in between them, Wayne doing the same. "I doubt you'll be able to keep this goodie two shoes act up for long." He was convinced Wayne didn't give a shite about anyone other than possibly Alfred. 

Half of Wayne nearly felt bad for Oswald; his childhood friend was paler than usual, and had clearly gotten into a few scraps with how he had a fading black eye and stitched lower lip along with a cut on his cheek, and he apparently hadn't been eating very well with how thin he was. 

The other half of Wayne kinda' wanted to punch the guy that had tried to murder him, caused Harvey's mental issues to severely resurface, and put several police officers in critical condition. 

"Is there anything else you wanted to discuss?" Wayne asked, minding his manners by only subtly implying he wanted the other to leave him alone. 

"Aw, what's wrong? Having trouble coming up with conversation like we used to?" Oswald taunted, rubbing his sore reddened knuckles that were scraped up from a recent fight. "Not very friendly anymore, are you?" 

Was Oswald- was Oswald REALLY blaming Wayne for ruining their friendship? 

"I'm sorry, Oz," Wayne retorted sarcastically, and he knew Oswald was finding this entertaining with how the jackass snickered, but Wayne continued. "I didn't realize trying to not get murdered by you at the park made me the unfriendly one and you the nice one here." 

"Murder is such a harsh word-" 

"You launched a drone at my throat." 

"You launched it right back." 

"In self defense." 

"How did you manage to do that in any case?" Oswald questioned intrigued. "I was a bit surprised a Wayne- of all people- managed to catch a whole drone coming at them full speed like it was some kind of light weighted bird." 

"I have good reflexes." 

"Right," Oswald scoffed skeptically. "of course you do." Because that totally wasn't a vague answer. 

"Or maybe you're just bad at fighting-" 

"Stop being an arse." 

"I'm the one being an ass?" Wayne questioned in disbelief, because yeah-- he was being a little bit of an ass, but Oswald was being a damn well even bigger one. 

Oswald had originally wanted to be the one that dissed off Wayne, but more than anything it was Wayne dissing him off. 

The pair stared each other down for a good long while, Oswald contemplating on just how much trouble he'd get in if he just so happened to break Wayne's foot by accidentally stepping on it. 

"Well I've had a grand ol' time chatting," Oswald finally spoke up with an all too friendly grin, standing up as he decided getting thrown in a padded room and strait suit wasn't worth sticking around here and possibly not being able to help taking a swing at pretty boy's jaw. "but I really should be getting back now." 

"What exactly are you getting back to?" Wayne inquired, Oswald giving him a look. "Are things busier than they look here?" 

Oswald wanted to mess up that perfect face of his. 

"Aren't you hilarious," Oswald sarcastically laughed in a forced manner. "but sadly, yes-- things are busier than they look," He gave a sour smirk and shrug. "it's not exactly all fun and games here, mate." Before Wayne could interrogate as to what that meant, Oswald turned his back to him and gave a wave. "Tata, old friend-" He looked over his shoulder, giving a wink that somehow seemed aggressive. "-it was good seeing you." 

Yeah right. 

The next two hours were relatively uneventful despite Wayne expecting John Doe to eventually show up, somewhat surprised when he didn't. 

"Mr. Wayne?" A voice questioned, Wayne perking up. "Dr. Hugo will see you now." 

Finally. 

Wayne stood, adjusted his necktie, and followed the woman into Hugo's office. 

"Please, Mr. Wayne," Hugo greeted with a warm smile, gesturing towards the chair across from his desk. "take a seat." 

Wayne gave a nod of thanks, sitting down where offered and straightening up before saying, "I was told I had to come here to discuss why I'm being denied a permit to build a new mental facility." 

Hugo allowed the right corner of his lip to tug upwards. "Your father always got straight to the point, too," He chuckled, walking over towards a table with a kettle sitting atop it. "he never did like beating around the bush." 

Wayne wasn't sure why finding out the leading doctor of Arkham Asylum had known his father took him by surprise considering that was where Thomas Wayne had done all of his... practices. 

"You two were friends?" Wayne inquired, uncertain as to whether or not they'd only known one another as formal employees. 

"We were," Hugo confirmed, pouring two cups of tea. "although I don't want to waste any of your time; I know you're a busy man, and would probably prefer to be on your way as soon as possible," Wayne didn't object and ask for more information, talking about his father being a bit of a sore spot. "so let's discuss business." 

However, later on Wayne would have to try and find out whether Hugo had known anything about the monstrosities that had been going on in the asylum before... and what his stance was on such. 

Hopefully, Hugo would turn out to be a good man. 

"Sounds good to me." Wayne politely agreed, knowing better than to be anything but nice towards potential business partners who held the upper hand. 

Hugo handed Wayne a cup while sitting down. "What all would you like to go over?" 

"For starters?" Wayne began, giving a gracious nod for the tea. "How is Arkham Asylum bringing the new mental facility I've been trying to build to a halt?" 

"That's simple," Hugo said with a shrug, legs crossing and fingers locking over his lap, apparently benign prepared for the question. "you signed a contract with us agreeing to fund our facility after you decided to scrap the idea to build a new one." 

"I am funding your facility," Wayne brought up, minding his manners and taking a sip of the given beverage. "although I've decided to have a plan B just in case this funding ends up going down the drain and not improving anything." 

"As understandable as that is, I'm afraid it simply isn't possible," Hugo informed apologetically, turning the key in his desk drawer before pulling it open. "unfortunately, the contract states you're exclusively bound to funding Arkham Asylum when it comes to mental facilities in Gotham." Hugo elaborated while taking out a file. 

Wait, what? 

"I don't recall that being in the-" Wayne began, Hugo sliding a copy of the contract from the file towards him. "-that." 

"It is tricky wording," Hugo admitted sympathetically as Wayne scanned his eyes over the sheet of paper. "please keep in mind I wasn't the one who created the terms." 

Wayne stared at the writing in disbelief. "Then who did?" 

"I'm not sure who the exact person was; many doctors and lawyers had input in what went in there." 

It sounded like someone either really wanted Wayne to devote himself to sprucing Arkham up, or they reckoned Arkham couldn't be cleaned out and wanted to keep it in the condition it was to benefit them. 

"Is there a possibility we could break this contract off and do a rewrite?" Wayne sighed, knowing it was unlikely but seeing no harm in asking. 

"I'm afraid that would take a while, and even then I doubt it," Hugo admitted, Wayne setting the papers back on the desk and letting out a long breath, pinching his nose while closing his eyes and setting his jaw. "I'd have to get everyone who had input on the contract to agree on a rewrite, and then we'd need to bring in some lawyers to redo the whole thing in a legal manner." 

Despite Wayne knowing stuff like this was never easy, he had still hoped. 

"Do you have an estimate on how much time that would take?" Wayne asked as he felt a migraine begin to come on. 

Hugo paused, arms crossing as he let out a long exhale. "At the least? I'd give it a month." 

"And at the most?" 

"Roughly a year." 

So much for helping the mentally unwell quickly. 

"Would you be able to find out who put in the statement preventing me from building another hospital?" Wayne requested, not liking his chances with the way Hugo gave an apologetic look. "I'd like to find out what their intentions were." 

"I'm sorry, but that's confidential," Hugo answered, Wayne figuring as much. "although you're more than welcome to do inspections here whenever you see fit-- whether it's yearly, monthly, weekly, or daily," Hugo offered with a warm smile. "at least until we've gotten this whole thing figured out, of course." 

Well, it was something he could do at least. 

Nonetheless, Wayne knew that would mean he'd probably have to face seeing his once friends fairly often, so that means his main priority should be... 

A) trying to patch things up with Harvey and attempting to improve his treatment so he gets actual medicine rather than just sedatives, and then briefly checking up on Oswald afterwards. [+] 

B) making sure Oswald isn't up to anything shady since he is... well, Oswald, and attempting to find out what those marks on his arm were to make sure he's not being mistreated, and then briefly checking up on Harvey afterwards. [+]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that was the first chapter! Any suggestions? Maybe something you enjoyed that I should keep with? Or something I could work on? :) 
> 
> In any case, please follow the lovely person this fanfiction is dedicated to! If you don't have a Tumblr, you could just check out her blog instead-- it has quality content, and she's genuinely one of the best people I've met on here so far :) You can find the link to her rad blog below! 
> 
> http://abloghasnonamebitch.tumblr.com/ 
> 
> Additionally, feel free to check out my blog in the link below that will probably be posting notifications when I update a chapter and such, plus there will also (probably) be the occasional imagines and drabbles involving TwoBatCobbles and whatnot ;) 
> 
> http://quellines-stories.tumblr.com

**Author's Note:**

> Guide~ 
> 
> Each chapter will have 2+ choices at the end of a story which the readers can vote on by submitting either A) or B), and so forth in the comment section (feedback in the comment as well would be greatly appreciated, but not required.) 
> 
> You may only submit your choice once per chapter, and if it looks like there's people submitting their choice twice through different names or anons, then that person will not have their input taken into account, and I may take off the option to comment anonymously, so please don't take that risk since it could potentially ruin it for both you and others, so ONLY COMMENT ONCE PER CHAPTER. 
> 
> I'll wait a week to gather up results, and after a week I'll start writing the overall next chapter by going off of whatever the most voted on result is. 
> 
> You may change your choice, however please let me know if you're changing your choice and do so before the week is up, or your original answer will most likely be the one taken into account rather than the new one. 
> 
> If 2 choices out of 3+ choices have a tie, I will delay the next chapter for another week and post a temporary chapter just saying which 2 have the tie and allow you all to vote on which choice you like better. 
> 
> If 3+ choices or 2 out of 2 choices have a tie, I will use a random generator to see which choice will be used and provide a link at the bottom of the page with a picture showing that was the generated choice. 
> 
> The end of each chapter will have a brief description going over what would've occurred if the less voted on choice was chosen instead. 
> 
> When Bruce Wayne is closer to Oswald and Harvey, he will be referred to by his first name more often. When he is not that close to them, he will usually be referred to by his last. If he starts referring to Harvey as Dent or Oswald as Cobblepot often, then that means the choices being made are making their relationship VERY rocky and unstable.   
>  This should give the readers an idea of where the trio stands with one another and whether their relationship is improving or worsening. 
> 
> Symbols~ 
> 
> ! = This choice will influence a major part in the story 
> 
> * = This choice will influence a future choice 
> 
> % = The result of this choice will be good or bad depending on a previously made choice 
> 
> \+ = This choice will influence the story, but it may not influence many chapters of it and it won't have as much of a dramatic influence as the other symbols


End file.
